Feel like I can never relax, I keep thinking I'm going to die (Hypochondriac)

[Joeee]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and new to this bad anxiety. I started having these problems 3 weeks ago after a bad comedown from hard drugs (I'm not a druggy, I do them time to time but have since stopped). It felt as though the comedown never ended and I was so scared that I had messed up my brain and that I was going to die from something. For the past 3 weeks I've been to the doctors twice about it; the first time I was given Diazepam and the second Amitriptyline. I haven't taken any of the Amitriptyline yet because I obviously had to Google the side effects before I took them and me being me was just like "No, I'm not taking these..." As soon as a I saw 'May induce suicidal thoughts' 'Heart attack' and all this stuff I just can't now take them because if I have one i think I'll just have a panic attack. Anyways, recently I always feel dizzy and disorientated when I'm alone or when I think about my health, I feel nauseous after I eat which makes me keep thinking "Am I suddenly diabetic?". Even when I put my head on my pillow I feel dizzy and it feels like the world is moving around me but I'm just stuck in place. I can hardly sleep either, which is why the doctor gave me the Amitriptyline. I've been having recurring nightmares too which is making it even worse because at the one time I feel that I could go to sleep I can't because I'm too scared to go back to sleep. Is there anything I can do to help to relax when I feel like this?
Thanks in advance to anyone that comments :):) :bighug1::bighug1:

P.S Should I stop smoking weed? I would like to ask it here because when I admitted to taking drugs to my doctor I felt awful and I just seemed like some major sniff head, I hate people knowing I do them and I hate that I got into them. I haven't done them for 3 weeks and plan on never doing them again :scared15::scared15:

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi and welcome to NMP :welcome:

I think there is a good clue in your post that you feel dizzy when alone or think about your health. How could thinking cause an effect like that in real physical health terms? It can't, but it can cause anxiety symptoms that will appear like that.

I know what you mean about medication. I was a bit put off when I first tried Citalopram but I trusted my GP's judgement and gave it go. It was very unpleasant and I needed Zopiclone due to the insomnia which caused my mood to sink.

Suicidal thoughts are only a possibility and to be honest, a lot of us have them just with anxiety & depression. Talk to your GP about this and they will be honest with you about it and tell you what to look out for and who to call if you have them.

The second time I went on a different one and the side effects in the leaflet is what I read through first because I was dreading it. Again it was very unpleasant but I got through it on my own without my GP or a sleep aid but I did take 2 Diazepam the last 2 mornings upon waking for some respite from it all.

The drug companies have to list the side effects because if anything did go wrong and you weren't aware of it beforehand, they would be taken to the cleaners in court.

In some of them it will say "1 in 1000", "1 in 100", etc to show some are more common. The most common tend to be the least troubling except that anxiety increases are often very common on them which none of us ever want.

Speak to others on here, raise a thread on the medicaton board about your concerns over it and people who have taken them will tell you about their experience. I have never used Amitriptyline but others have.

Good luck with it.

[Alice1]

I don't know an awful lot about this sort of thing but from what I have heard drugs, and especially the effects of them, can excite your nerves and kind of kick them into a ultra sensitive state.
My anxiety can sort of be linked to getting worse after having about 4 jagerbombs at a club when I had previously drunk about twice in my life before. This probably wasn't the cause but combined with some other factors it probably fuelled the fire.
I would say discuss your concerns about your medication and whether you think its the best option for you with your doctor. He might have given then to you for a specific reason, not just as a quick fix to anxiety. However there are definitely ways you can feel better without medication and just reading a few of the forums on here will start to help you form a plan etc.

The drugs have not done any long term damage to your body and they are out of your system now so do not worry about that. It is just your mind that needs to repair but if your willing to try it definitely will.

The weed is your decision. I personally don't think drugs or alcohol (or even food ideally but that is trickier) should be consumed when the person is in a bad mental state as it only fosters dependence on things that can never give you the cure or comfort you are looking for. If you feel you can stop taking it it might be a good idea to hold off for the time being as it can lead to psychosis of varying sorts in a lot of people so may lead to problems down the line. Maybe instead of weed find a counsellor or a really good friend?

Ultimately it comes down to what you think is best for you as you really do, even though you might not think so, is best for your body.

But you will be ok no matter what, seriously.

[colinmckee2]

This exact same thorn happened to me 2 months ago. Took some ecstacy and had a panic attack, I thought it was game over for me. I went to hospital and try kept me in over night and got me all sorted. Since then my head has been ****ed wih visions of dying and heart attacks, the doctors have done 12-14 ecgs, blood tests and heart scans and I'm all fine. I tried some meds including propanolol and sertraline but the side effects were horrible so I'm just gonna fight anxiety without meds. Good luck! Have the tests done man and don't take them again. I also haven't nor ever will, weed can increase your anxiety.

[Emilym80]

Can I ask how old you are? I had a bad experience with Lexapro. However, I was in the group of increased risk for suicidal ideation (18 and below) and, even then, only 1-2% of people in that age group experience them. I just stopped the medication and the thoughts went away on their own. I'm not telling you that to scare you, but to let you know that it's very rare to have that kind of adverse reaction and, I believe, manageable so long as you stop the medication. Most of the time it's actually caused by irregularities in taking the medication too (I was all over the shop, taking it at quite different times every day).

If you think this medication will really help you, don't let these fears deter you :) remember they have to list every adverse reaction EVER to the medication... So if one person in the history of taking Xanax has a heart attack, for instance, it has to be included in the pamphlet.

You could ask a close friend or loved one to watch for any changes in personality or character while on the medication and make sure you don't seem like your mood has changed drastically. I'm pretty sure this would precede any significant adverse psychological reaction.

As for the dizziness, is there any chance of an ear infection that could be messing with your balance? And for the sleeping, you could try relaxing a long time before you go to bed. Maybe stop using electronic devices for a couple of hours before bed and read/drink herbal tea/listen to music.

Finally, I'd stop smoking if I were you. I know it can be helpful short-term but I really don't think it's helpful long-term in anxious people. There's no need to feel ashamed for taking drugs but I don't think it'll be good for you in the long run.

Best wishes :)

[SarahH]

Please take the advice of "My Name is Terry"... he always talks a great deal of sense.


Sarah

[Toby2000]

Hi Joe,

Welcome to No More Panic :welcome:

Yes, you should stop smoking weed. Try speaking to your parents about it. You're not a "sniff head", you're a 14 year old boy who's going through a rough patch and needs support. Here are 10 tips I found online that may help you out..

1. If you feel a craving about to hit, you might want to say “Just 10 more minutes” to when you’ll satisfy your craving and then do something to distract yourself. You can repeat this step as often as necessary.

2. Take caution to avoid known triggers that might set you off. You should avoid situations that you know you’ll want to start using again.

3. You should also avoid hanging around people who smoke, they may influence you to do the same and hinder your goal of quitting.

4. Get a new hobby. While you’re trying to quit, it’s important to keep yourself distracted with someone you enjoy doing so you’re not focused on the craving; focusing on the craving may only result into giving into it.

5. You shouldn’t expect your friends, the one who do smoke, to offer any support towards your goal of quitting. It may even benefit you to get some new friends.

6. It might be benefiting to take up a relaxing technique or start meditating. Especially, when a craving hits.

7. Throw out all your pot and any smoking paraphernalia that you may have. If you have any unsmoked pot, don’t feel you have to smoke it and then start your plan to quit after you finish it; just get rid of it all now and be done with it.

8. If you have a dealer, break all contact and make sure they stop contacting you. If you have no way of contacting them, you won’t be able to give in and place an order.

9. You should prepare for the withdrawal you’re going to experience, especially if you’ve decided to quite cold turkey. Which should level off within two weeks. You can get through it.

10. Write down all the reasons why you want to quit smoking and pull it out every time you need a reminder when it gets hard.

Now, let's talk anxiety. Yep, 90% of us on here can totally relate to you. We've all experienced "symptoms" which pop up out of the blue, which are mostly caused by the big "A".. anxiety! For example, I had a huge worry about having a brain tumor before Christmas all over a 2/3 week headache which would never go away. Guess why it was staying around? Because I was conscious of the headache and I was really getting worked up about it, so that worrying caused my headache. When I stopped worrying after I told myself that nothing was the matter, the headache went. This is just like your situation. Re-read this.. "Anyways, recently I always feel dizzy and disorientated when I'm alone or when I think about my health, I feel nauseous after I eat which makes me keep thinking "Am I suddenly diabetic?". You said yourself that you get nauseous when you think about your health, which means that it's anxiety causing your symptoms. Then worrying about diabetes causes new symptoms. Take a look at this:

http://www.anxiety-central.com/uploads/gallery/album_13/gallery_1_13_20822.gif

Do you get the picture? Once you understand how anxiety works, you can begin to control it and then begin to control your HA. Try talking to your parents about this, they can really help you out.

Here are some useful links that helped me out with my HA:


http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hypochondria/Documents/Health%20Anxiety%20A4%20%202010.pdf
http://www.cpft.nhs.uk/Downloads/DVD-Documents/Leaflets/Coping%20with%20health%20anxiety2%20final.pdf
http://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/healthanxiety.htm


Good luck with the first day of the rest of your life which can be lived anxiety free,

I'm always here if you need me!

Toby :)